Program administrator vs department administrator

The differences between program administrators and department administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a program administrator and a department administrator. Additionally, a program administrator has an average salary of $50,715, which is higher than the $49,768 average annual salary of a department administrator.

The top three skills for a program administrator include customer service, oversight and patients. The most important skills for a department administrator are patient care, patients, and financial reports.

Program administrator vs department administrator overview

	Program Administrator	Department Administrator
Yearly salary	$50,715	$49,768
Hourly rate	$24.38	$23.93
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	119,898	84,441
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a program administrator do?

Program administrators are responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating their organization's program or service. Their duties and responsibilities may vary depending on the industry they work at, such as educational, community, and social services. Among these duties are selecting and supervising the staff to manage a certain program or project, managing the program's budget, and evaluating the success of a program. To become successful in this role, a program administrator must have in-depth knowledge of project management disciplines, leadership skills, and decision-making and problem-solving skills.

What does a department administrator do?

Department administrators are professionals who are responsible for performing administrative and clerical tasks for a specific department within an organization. These administrators are required to prepare financial statements for clients while evaluating revisions through feedback with stakeholders. They must work with the human resources department to recruit and identify workers for retraining and skill upgrades. Department administrators must also develop and streamline departmental policies and processes so that they can ensure efficiency, productivity, and accountability.

Program administrator vs department administrator salary

Program administrators and department administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Administrator	Department Administrator
Average salary	$50,715	$49,768
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $73,000	Between $34,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Urban Honolulu, HI	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Meta	MacArthur Foundation
Best paying industry	Government	Energy

Differences between program administrator and department administrator education

There are a few differences between a program administrator and a department administrator in terms of educational background:

	Program Administrator	Department Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Bakersfield

Program administrator vs department administrator demographics

Here are the differences between program administrators' and department administrators' demographics:

	Program Administrator	Department Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%	Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between program administrator and department administrator duties and responsibilities

Program administrator example responsibilities.

Manage monetary, laptop and training supports for members living with HIV.
Manage overall document inventory and wiki updates via SharePoint.
Manage CRM and SharePoint systems for online recruiting technology company.
Manage co-op vendor and provide overall program direction for Toyota dealers and regional offices nationwide.
Develop and implement administrative procedures for new mental health management unit providing day services to elderly patients.
Invoice clients using QuickBooks software.

Department administrator example responsibilities.

Manage calendars, correspondence, logs, reports and maintain documentation in Prolog.
Lead implementation of local area network and upgrade of scheduling, billing and A/R software.
Manage patient records ensuring confidentiality and compliance with all HIPAA regulations.
Initiate and manage the implementation of facilities management oversight of external properties.
Direct Medicaid health plan management division activities (manage care program operations, quality improvement, and contract administration).
Verify vendor quotes and resolve invoice discrepancies.

Program administrator vs department administrator skills

Common program administrator skills

Customer Service, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 4%
Client Facing, 4%

Common department administrator skills

Patient Care, 10%
Patients, 10%
Financial Reports, 7%
Human Resources, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Departmental Policies, 5%

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Program Administrator vs Department Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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